How the Nuggets took control of Game One
Entering the second half, the Lakers had led since the score was 8-6. By the end of the third quarter, the Nuggets were up 11. Here's how they dominated.
Game one belonged to the Lakers for 29 minutes and 45 seconds. Until that point, the last lead the Nuggets had held was 6-4 just under two minutes into the first quarter.
The Lakers had led by as much as 12 points in the first half after LeBron James scooped a loose ball off the floor for an easy transition dunk. From that point on, it would only be downhill for the Lakers as the Nuggets, little by little, chipped away at their lead until they held an 11-point lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Nuggets finished the half unrelenting. Following the James transition dunk, they went on a 10-0 run, cutting the lead to 2 points before the Lakers finally regained some control as Anthony Davis wedged his way in front of Nikola Jokic for an offensive rebound and put back off a missed D’Angelo Russell floater.
The Nuggets would tie the game with two minutes and 15 seconds left in the half off a Jokic putback and would enter the second half down just 3 points.
So, what did the Nuggets do in the third quarter to assert dominance in the game en route to an 11-point victory?
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On the first offensive possession for the Nuggets, following a missed three by Austin Reaves, they utilized the gravity of the Murray-Jokic pick and roll to free up a shot for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Murray started taking the ball up the court with Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. spaced in each corner, and Jokic and Caldwell-Pope in the left quadrant. Caldwell-Pope curled towards Murray off an off-ball screen by Jokic, setting a ghost screen before flaring out to the right wing. Murray dribbled toward Jokic, with both his man (Reaves) and Caldwell-Pope’s man (Russell) following. Jokic then flipped his body, screening off both Reaves and Russell, as Murray fired a pass to Caldwell-Pope to tie the game with a three.
It’s a simple action, but one that utilizes the IQ, gravity and synergy of Jokic and Murray to unlock the shooting of the Nuggets’ other pieces. The Nuggets were only aided by the lack of communication between Russell and Reaves, as well as a lackluster closeout from Rui Hachimura.
The very next possession, with the Lakers on offense, showcased the difference between the two teams in terms of ball-screen communication. Russell came down the court, Caldwell-Pope on him, tossing the ball to James, guarded by Gordon, who received a screen from Anthony Davis with Jokic hanging in drop coverage around the free-throw line.
The pass to James flowed into a hand-off for Russell, with Gordon staying for a split second on the other side of Davis, giving Caldwell-Pope time to recover back to Russell. The hand-off flows into a double-drag for Russell, trying to force Jokic to switch onto either Russell or James. Instead, Jokic holds steady in drop while Gordon and Caldwell-Pope switch beautifully, forcing Russell to attack a much bigger and stronger Gordon.
The Nuggets communicated a condensed, screen-heavy action beautifully, and it led to a tough shot in an inefficient spot on the floor. A night-and-day difference in comparison to the sloppy switching, chasing and closing out of the Lakers on the other end.
Defensively, forcing the Lakers to try and win through Russell was the game plan for the Nuggets. He was going to bring the ball up a good portion of the time, so as long as the Nuggets kept it in Russell’s hands, limiting James and Davis, they felt comfortable with the result.
On the other end, the Lakers were using their defensive ace in an interesting way. Most would assume the Lakers would just put a defender of Davis’ prowess on Jokic and call it a day, but instead, it was Hachimura taking on the two-time MVP, with Davis guarding Gordon.
Putting Davis on the Nuggets’ worst shooter allows the two-time Defensive Player of the Year finalist to roam, disrupting off-ball by bringing help on actions involving Jokic.
On-ball, Davis sagged off of Gordon, daring him to shoot, correctly believing it to be the best shot they could concede as Gordon shoots just 29.0% from three.
Ideally, for the Lakers, this is what placing Davis on a spaced Gordon allows him to do off the ball.
However, when Gordon is directly involved in an action, it’s a different story.
Here, Gordon takes the ball up the court for Denver, dishing it to Jokic who then flows into a hand-off pick and roll with Murray as Gordon cuts behind Davis. As Hachimura stays in front of Murray, Jokic stops at the free throw line, forcing Davis to stay high and switch, respecting Jokic’s mid-range.
Gordon stays behind the play, and Jokic attacks, pushing Davis under the rim where his rim protection is nullified, and Jokic can utilize his historically good touch to generate a basket.
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Let’s quickly recap some of the things Denver has done well, or started to do well, in the third quarter to keep the game close before their inevitable explosion:
Force the Lakers to play through Russell, and by extension Reaves, through great communication and switching.
Engage the Lakers’ weaker defenders in actions to generate open shots.
Use Gordon in actions to try and force Davis to switch onto Jokic, nullifying his impact in help defense.
Ultimately, the Nuggets’ offensive game plan doesn’t work without the mind and ability of Jokic. Jokic’s offensive brilliance means there’s likely a fault in any game plan an opponent may utilize to try and slow him down. His touch makes him the most dangerous scorer on the floor and his vision means you can’t slant your defense at his scoring too far or else his teammates will feast on open shots.
Over the years, the Nuggets have honed their roster and game plan to give Jokic the greatest runway possible to utilize all of his traits and talents, creating an offensive dicing machine full of smart, athletic players who can space and cut around the hub of Denver’s offensive solar system.
On the other end, the Lakers possess an incredible talent of their own in Davis, who is much more than just his defensive prowess. While his outside shooting has tailed off during his tenure with the Lakers, Davis still possesses a deep scoring arsenal inside the arc, and is more than willing to attack a softer defender in Jokic if given the opportunity.
Davis would finish the game with 32 points (59.3% true shooting), 14 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. A lot of those points involved Jokic in ball screens, as they do here.
In an effort to deny James the ball, Jokic hedges hard on a Davis hand-off. Murray smartly tags Davis rolling to the rim, forcing James to instead swing it to Reaves, but as Jokic is recovering, Davis receives the ball and attacks, scoring with touch.
The ‘Battle of the Titans’ was not one-sided though as Jokic returned 32 points (67.0% true shooting) of his own, alongside 12 rebounds and seven assists.
Another way in which the Nuggets try to get to their offense while nullifying Davis’ defense is through cross-matches. Essentially, cross-matching means dictating defensive matchups in transition or semi-transition, by running to the most advantageous matchup.
On a missed James three, Gordon ran back to keep James on him, while Jokic found his normal matchup. This left Davis to guard Porter Jr. as he streaked down the court. There are many differences between Gordon and Porter Jr., but the main aspect is shooting. Davis can’t sag off Porter Jr. in the same way as he does Gordon, and in this cross-match, he’s punished for attempting to do so, allowing the Nuggets to take their first lead of the half.
Another possession exemplifying how cross-matches dictate Davis’ impact is the very next offensive possession for Denver. Davis is once again matched up on Porter Jr. so Murray and Jokic flow into a traditional pick-and-roll with Gordon in the dunker spot. Murray hits Jokic on the roll, forcing James to slide up and that leaves Gordon open for a lob.
The lob put the Nuggets up 3 points, giving them their biggest cushion of the game. However, after a pair of Hachimura free throws and a Jokic back-down bucket, the Lakers would even the game once again.
Reaves dribbled the ball down the court, seemingly setting up the same hand-off action for James the Nuggets switched so beautifully in the second clip shown. However, instead, Reaves screens his own man first, preventing Caldwell-Pope from providing help blowing up the hand-off.
James would get a good screen from both Reaves and Davis, getting an angle to get downhill, finishing through contact for the and-one.
Coming back on the other end, one option has not been explored. What happens when the Lakers double Jokic in the post? On the next trip down, the Nuggets went to attack Hachimura with Davis firmly on the weak side. and immediately, Spencer Dinwiddie (who had replaced Russell minutes ago) sent the double, forcing the Lakers to rotate.
Davis stayed low, trying to seal off the basket. Reaves, who was the only other Laker on the weak side, was left to guard Porter Jr. and Caldwell-Pope, but as Jokic split the double, he looked toward Porter Jr. on the left wing sending Reaves up. Simultaneously, Gordon set a screen on Davis, freeing up Caldwell-Pope for his cleanest look of the game with Davis effectively sealed off.
To some extent, you never want to double Jokic because of his ability to find every player on the floor. However, you have to bring extra help, or else he’s just going to score, like he did on the next trip down.
Jokic started at the top of the key this time, driving into Hachimura before help could come. Davis sat under the rim, but with Jokic’s size advantage, he effectively just shot over Hachimura, using him as a wall between Davis and the shot, giving the Nuggets a 6-point lead.
After a few sloppy possessions: an errand pass by James, a missed three by Gordon and a blocked layup by Taurean Prince; the Nuggets got out in transition, finding Caldwell-Pope for another three, extending the lead to eight with three minutes and 17 seconds left.
In the third quarter, two of Davis’ four shots came from three, including two coming on the Nuggets run to extend their lead. The shots came from the same spot, in the same scenario, trying to wall off a drive from James; showing that it was exactly what the Nuggets wanted.
Feeling it now, making three of his four threes to this point in the quarter, Caldwell-Pope flew up from the paint, getting a hand-off from Jokic, and firing from behind the arc, extending the lead to 11 points.
The rest of the quarter, and the game for that matter, maintained relatively the same. The Lakers’ shooting improved slightly in the fourth, but the Nuggets continued to execute their game plan on both ends, nullifying Davis on defense to the best of their ability.
Throughout the rest of the series, how the Lakers change their usage of Davis to stop Jokic is going to determine the outcome of the series. However, like last year’s Western Conference Finals, the Nuggets’ offense could just be too precise for the Lakers to stop.
With game two playing out at 10:00 p.m. EST, we will get a chance to see exactly how they adjust.
After game 2 I genuinely don’t think there’s an actual way the Lakers can win this series. They’ll probably get a game or two at home but they just can’t win 4 against the Nuggets